Kotak Realty Fund takes stake in Pride Hotels

Kotak Realty Fund has picked up 11.11% stake in Mumbai-based Pride Hotel chain. Pride Hotels will utilise the funds to fund a Rs 350 crore expansion-renovation plan. The hotel chain plane to set up and commission five star hotels in Mumbai, Goa and Hyderabad, and set up a new hotel in Bangalore.

S P Jain, chairman of the group, said, "With this key investment from the Kotak Realty Fund, we are  now close to finalising the sources of funds for our expansion plans."

Pride Hotel chain has also acquired land at Alibaug near Mumbai on which it proposes to build a resort hotel-cum-spa.

"We estimate that we will be operating 1150 hotel rooms in the most important metros by December 2009," Jain said.

The Pride group operates four 5- star properties, in Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Chennai, with a total of 438 rooms.

The expansion plan also includes the addition of 50 per cent more rooms in these existing properties. The new rooms are expected to be commissioned between December of 2008 and end-2009.